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GUIDE 



TO 



DRESSMAKING. 

^ CONTAINING 

ALL AND COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS IN MEASURING, 
FITTING, CUTTING BY MEASURE, MAKING UP, 
AND ALL THE OTHER DETAILS OF 
DRESSMAKING. 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED 
COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FOR CUTTING AND MAKING 

LADIES' UNDERCLOTHING. 



FIFTT-SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS, 

BOSTON- vc..«w.,H,«&.< 

J. HENRY SYM'ONDS, PUBLISHER, 
65 Devonshire Street. 



^ 



S' 

c^"' 

9 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S76, by 

J. HENRY SYMONDS, 

in tlie office of the Librai-iau of Congress, al Washington, D. C. 






^^ 



PREFACE. 



The great success which the previous practical works — 
adapted to the wants of the American lady and issued by 
me — have met with, Is an assurance that this thorough 
treatise on a subject of absorbing interest to every lady, 
especially to all mothers of families, will meet with a 
cordial welcome. 

It has been the intention of the author to so simplify 
the subject wbich she has treated as to enable all ladles 
who will give the work an attentive persual, to literally 
become their "own dressmakers." That this modest pub- 
lication may enable thousands of ladles to master the 
details of the art of dressmaking, and thus to prove to 
them a very economical as well as instructive companion, 

is the hearty wish of, 

The Publisher. 



ANNOUNCEMENT. 



In presenting this volume to the ladles of America, the 
publisher takes occasion to call attention to the following 
books issued expressly for those ladies who find pleasure 
and profit in the several arts of which they treat. 

Lady's Book of Knitting and Crochet was first 
Issued in January last, and has already reached the sale of 
nearly ten thousand copies. It contains over a hundred 
formulas for these interesting pursuits, all of which have 
been thoroughly and conscientiously tested by a lady 
expert, and she has succeeded in describing them all so 
distinctly that no one can have the slightest difficulty in 
understanding them. These directions include the most 
novel and unique effects in these branches of lady's work. 
Price §0 Cents, 

Guide to Needlework. The second edition of this 
valuable ladies' companion is just issued, in which its one 
hundred and sixty-seven illustrations have been greatly 
improved. It contains full and explicit instruction for 
every kind of stitch in plain and fancy needlework, 
together with full directions for cutting and making under- 
clothing, and complete directions for Berlin w^ork and 
embroidery. The character of the instructions which it 
gives is such as to make it almost invaluable to such ladies 



as are already skilled in needlework, as well as to those 
viho are seeking to become so. Price jo Cents. 

Guide to Hon i ton Lace Making. This work will 
introduce to the ladies of America an agreeable occupation 
which, although not much practised in this country, is very 
fashionable throughout Europe where it has proved to be 
not only a very fascinating employment, but at the same 
time a calm and quiet occupation, and is considered a real 
benefactor to the sex. Illustrated with sixty-eight cuts. 
Price §0 Cents. 

These books are for sale by all booksellers, news-agents, 
and dealers in trimmings ; or mailed, postage free, on 
receipt of 50 C^/z/^, by J. Henry Symonds, 6S Devon- 
shire street, Boston, Mass. 

Trade supplied by New England News Co., Boston, 
and American News Co., New York. 



GUIDE TO DRESSMAKING, 



INTRODUCT I ON. 

The followlncf lessons are deslorned to teach ladies how 
to cut out and make up their own and their children's 
dresses. Dressinaking has been of late years a much neglect- 
ed art, and few ladies even possess the knowledge neces- 
sary for making the clothes they wear. 

Yet dressmaking is not difficult work ; it does not de- 
mand genius, but a capacity for taking trouble. A care- 
ful worker will become a good dressmaker, and will suc- 
ceed, after a few trials, in making far more satisfactory 
dresses than she can obtain from a second-rate dressmaker 
by patiently mastering each detail, and, with the help of 
a really well-fitting pattern-bodice, no amateur need 
despair rivalling first-class work. 

In these days of sewing-machines, paper models, and 
fashion magazines, with their accompanying illustrations 
of the ever-chans^Inof mode, there can be no more reason 
why a lady should not employ her leisure time in making 
her own dresses than there was in earlier days against the 
maids and matrons of England's upper and middle classes 
sitting: at the distaflf and manufacturinsf their own linen. 
In fact, there are many reasons in- favor of such a prac- 
tice. Economy is forwarded by it, and a lady can afford 
to trim her dress much more handsomely when she has in 
hand the amount of money that would otherwise 



lO 



have gone to the dressmaker for mere making. Be- 
sides, many things aheady in the house can be utihsed in 
home dressmaking that one would not hke to ask a dress- 
maker to use up. And on other accounts it is also advan- 
tageous. For instance, it is almost invariably the case 
that those w^ho make their ow^n dresses fit themselves 
much better than any regular dressmaker. This may 
seem improbable, because the professional hand has natu- 
rally much more experience, but w^hen our readers reflect 
that among so many patterns for so many different fig- 
ures a dressmaker inay often get confused, and that in 
the case of home dressmaking the pattern and the fig- 
ure are all one and the same, it will appear less unlikely 
that an unprofessional hand may succeed in this case 
better than a professional. 

Planning a new dress is not unlike planning a new 
house. One first estimates the cost, then chooses the 
style, in which is included the choice of material. Nowa- 
days, the style of both houses and dresses are so various that 
the principal difficulty is to choose, and the next to follow 
one's choice out with consistency. This last point is 
where most of us fail. Anomalies in architecture are not 
rare, but incongruities in style of dress are pitiably fre- 
quent. But with this vexed question we have nothing to 
do at present. 

CONCERNING MATERIAL. 
First of all, then, in selecting materials and trying the 
necessary quantities, you must bear in mind the different 
widths of the various textures, and find out before you en- 
ter the shop exactly the quantity of material you wish to 
purchase. Let us suppose, for instance, that you want to 
make yourself a jacket ; and before buying the stuff you 



II 



wish to know exactly how much it will take. The ma- 
terial is to be serge, which is thirty-two inches wide. 
You fancy that it will take three yards — from that to four. 
Clear a strip of the floor, about four yards by thirty-two 
inches ; mark it out distinctly on the carpet with white 
chalk, and then lay the different parts of your pattern on 
it ; turn and twist them till you are satisfied that they lie 
in the smallest compass, and before taking them up make 
a little sketch on paper of the way in which they are 
arranged, lest you should forget ; then measure exactly the 
length taken by them on the carpet; and, lastly, give two 
minutes to thinking it all over, and satisfying yourself 
that there is. no mistake, such as forgetting a sleeve, or 
having arranged the two fronts for the same side. By do- 
ing this a few times you will soon get into the habit as it 
were mechanically, of know^ing where each little piece 
will fit in, and then you will cut out to advantange without 
all this preliminary trouble. Another thing to be mind- 
ful of is to be sure to allow for a right and wrong side, 
should there be a difference, and that the grain or nap of 
the stuff is the same up and down. By careful attention 
to these little things a reduction of two or three yards 
may frequently be gained. 

It is a good plan, when one is going to buy materials, 
to keep in the pocket-book a little table of the widths of 
the different materials, and a list of the respective quanti- 
ties required. Thus, fourteen yards of serge, thirty-two 
inches wide are equal to eight yards of tweed at fifty-two 
inches. Sixteen yards of silk, twenty four-inches in 
width, equal fourteen yards at twenty-seven inches in 
width. 

It is almost impossible to give minute directions as to 
the quantities required for a dress, jacket, tablier, or bod- 



12 



ice. Much depends on the size of the wearer, and much 
on the quantities of trimming used. A perfectly plain 
dress for a figure of medium size requires twelve yards of 
material thirty-two inches In width. When I say a per- 
fectly plain dress, -I mean an untrimmed skirt, tabller-tu- 
nic, and jacket bodice. To make a short jacket takes 
about a }'ard and a quarter of tweed, according to the size 
of the wearer ; in linsey or serge, about three yards ; of 
Irish frieze, being somewhat narrower, three yards and a 
quarter. For tabllcr-tunic and bodice, of double-width 
material, such as merino, a little under three yards and a ■ 
quarter will sufiice ; if the serge be single-width, five 
yards ; if narrower still, say twenty-seven inches, then 
five and three-quarters. Frieze, although narrower, will 
take somewhat less, on account of the extra thickness of 
the material. This Is all reckoned without allowance for 
trimming. 

Certain materials require to be made up with the nap 
running up ; of these are sealskin and velveteen. If they 
are made so that the nap brushes downwards, they will 
look very badly. There will be a dusty-looking white 
sheen on them, whereas If made as above, they present a 
rich gloss, and look their best. 

This must be allowed for In calculating the quantities 
of material required, as, for instance. In cutting gored 
breadths. It will not do to make two gores out of one 
breadth, as may be done in ordinary plain materials, for 
that would necessitate turning one of them down and the 
other up. In goring velveteen It is well to cut off the 
unnecessary portion in such a manner as will enable you 
to utilise It for some other portion of the dress, such as 
the under part of the sleeve, the cuff, or the pocket. 



CONCERNING TRIMMINGS. 

Calculating the quantities for trimmings is rather more 
di^cult than estimating the number of yards necessary for 
cutting the plain dress. A rough guess maybe made by 
allowing three times the length of the part to be trimmed 
for kilt plaiting, or close plaiting, as is sometimes called. 
For instance, if the skirt measure four yards round, and 
you wish to trim it with these close j^laits that are now so 
fashionable, you must allow twelve yards of material cut 
to the right width, for this plaiting. If the i^laiting is too 
be seven inches in depth, you must cut stripes of material 
of that width until you have twelve yards. This will aid 
you in estimating the quantity necessary to buy. For 
flounces or frills that are simply gathered or plaited, it 
will be sufficient to allow twice the length of the part to 
be trimmed. For bias bands It Is very easy to calcu- 
late, for a yard of material, if cut exactly on the bias, 
and carefully managed will give exactly the same length 
in bias bands that it would if cut Into plain straight 
strijDS. 

Such small matters as collai-s, cuffs, piping, etc., need 
not be calculated for in purchasing a dress, since these 
can always be got out of the cuttings. 

The gathered sleeves that are still sometimes seen re- 
quire about double the quantity of material necessary for 
the coat-sleeve, which is now the sleeve par excellence. 

Sometimes the cuff of the coat-sleeve Is very elaborately 
trimmed, and In this case the quantity of material necessa- 
ry fbr such trimming must not be omitted in one's calcu- 
lation. 

Linings, buttons, whalebone, hooks and eyes, tape, 
ribbon, and braid must not be forgotten. For body and 



H 

sleeves three yards of lining will be sufficient. Properly 
speaking, sleeves should always be lined with silk, which 
is more comfortable than linen or cambric, and also gives 
the sleeves a better *'set.'* For the skirt, a yard and a 
half of lining will.be sufficient, unless it be intended that 
the skirt shall be lined throughout. This is not often done 
now, though I always recommend it with the skirts of 
thin dresses, such as tussore, thin silk, lawns of the light- 
er kind, and black silks when "done up" afresh. The lin- 
ing not only keeps the dress cleaner, but it also protects it 
from wear and tear, or such accidents as may befall when 
the dress gets trodden upon. 

In buying braid for putting round the hem of dresses, 
one should always buy the best. . If the dress be four 
yards round, four and a half of braid should be allowed, 
as it should be put on without the slightest stretching, 
otherw^Ise it will not serve the purpose for which it is 
intended, that of protecting the dress from injury and 
soil. 



TERMS USED IN DRESSMAKING. 

No science, no art, is without a certain language of its 
own, a language which must be mastered by the student. 
For example — terms used in cookery have to be learned 
by the novice ; the terms used in botany and chemistry 
present the great difficulty of being in a dead language ; 
while musical terms are chiefly Italian, and cookery tech- 
nicalities are French, To France, then, as the great lead- 
er in the civilizing arts of cookery and dress, do we turn 
for instruction in the alphabet of dressmaking terms. 
These terms should be acquired by beginners, for, although 
we endeavor to avoid French words as much as possible 
in this work, yet certain words have become Anglicised, 



15 

and are accepted and understood by all workers. We may- 
instance the word Bouillotz as one of these terms, which, 
being ahnost untranslatable into English, is universally 
made use of by dressmakers, modistes, and drapers. In 
the following alphabetical list I have given — ist, the exact 
or literal meaning of the word ; 2nd, the explanation 
when necessary ; and 3rd, an exam^Dle of the application, 
also when necessary. 

I do not pretend that this list includes all, or even one 
half, of the French terms used in dressmaking ; for, as 
novelties are continually arising, so words are coined and 
become general in a short space of time ; but the words 
most usually employed are here. Some ladies wish that 
* 'dressmakers' language" could be "put into English," but 
technical terms must be used in describing the art of 
dressmaking, as well as in describing all other arts. 

LIST OF FRENCH TERMS USED IN DRESSMAKING. 

Jlgraffe. — A clasp ; applied also to gimp fastenings. 

A-ppret. — I. Finish ; the dressing j^ut into calicoes, &c. 
Ex. — Pei'cale sans appei-t^ undressed cambric. 2. Also 
the trimming at the back of a bonnet, either a lace lappet 
or ribbon bow, or any finish to a head-dress. 

Aumoniere. — Alms bag ; a small bag hanging from 
the waist; 

Baleine. — ^W'^halebone. 

J^andeaux. — Bands ; applied also to bands of hair. 

J3as. — I. The lower edge. 2. Stockings. 

JBasques. — Applied to the ends of a jacket or bodice 
falling below the line of the waist. 

Bials. — I. Bias, on the cross. 2. Crossways. 

JBoinbe. — Rounded or puffed. 

Borde. — Round ; edged with. 



i6 



Borde a clieval. — Binding of equal depth on both sides. 

JBottes. — Very thick walking boots. 

jBotiines. — Boots ; applied chiefly to house boots. 

Bourre. — Wadded or stuffed ; a term often applied to 
quilted articles. 

Calotte. — Crown ; the crown of a cap or bonnet. 

Cainlsole. — A loose jacket ; applied to dressing and 
morning jackets. 

Cap i tonne. — Drawn in like the seat of a sofa or chair ; 
buttoned down. 

Capuchon. — A hood on a mantle. 

Cascade. — A fall of lace ; generally used in speaking of 
lace that is made to flow, with zig-zag bends, like a river. 

Ccintnre. — Belt, waistband, or sash, 
• Chaussure. — Boots and shoes. 

Chemise. — Shift ; chejnise de jour^ day chemise ; cJie- 
mise de nult^ night-dress ; chemise d' hom7ne., a night- 
shirt. 

CJiiquete. — Pinked out. 

Clos. — Closed or fastened. 

Coiffeur.' — Hairdresser. 

Coiffiii'e. — A head-dress ; manner of dressing the hair. 

Coive. — Bonnet lining. 

Confection. — A term applied to all kinds of made-up 
mantles, cloaks, and jackets, and all outdoor garments. 

Cogues. — Looped bows of ribbon. 

Cornet. — The cuff of a sleeve opening like the large 
end of a trumpet, larger at the wrist than above. 

Corsage. — Bodice. ' 

Cor^t. — Stays. 

Costu7ne. — Complete dress. 

Coulisse. — Small slipstitcbed plaiting, sewn on to the 
dress by slipstitches. 



17 

CreneU. — Crenelated ; cut in square scallops, like bat- 
tlements. 

DentcUe. — Lace. 

Dent die. — Scalloped. 

Dents. — Scallops ; these can be pointed or square. 

Dessous. — Underneath . 

Dessus. — Above. 

Devant. — Front. 

Dos. — Back. 

Echarpe.—K scarf; applied to scarves tied round the hat. 

Ecru. — The color of raw silk. 

Effile. — Fringe, generally a narrow one. 

Encolure. — The opening at the neck of a dress or the 
armhole. 

En biais. — On the cross. 

En cJidle. — Resembling a shawl ; applied to bodices 
and drapery. 

Encoeur. — Heart or V-shaped ; applied to bodices. 

En coquille. — Folded backwards and foi'wards in zig- 
zags. Shell points. * 

En echelle. — Like a ladder. 

En eventail. — Like a fan. 

En tahlier. — To look like or imitate a tablier. 

Envers. — The wrong side. 

Epaise. — Thick. 

Epaisseur. — Thickness. 

Eendu. — Slashed, cut open ; applied to jacket-basques, 
sleeves, &c. 

Eichu. — A half-squaae, cut from corner to corner ; any 
small covering for the shoulders. 

Elots. — Quantities of lace or ribbon so arranged as to 
fall over each other like waves. Ex. — Elots de dentelle^ 
rows of gathered lace falling one over the other. 



i8 



Prange grill ee. — A rather deep fringe, with an open 
heading, like network. 

I^ronces. — Gathers ; France^ gathered. 

yarretie7'e. — Garter. 

jfupe. — Skirt. 

yupon. — Petticoat. 

Lingerie. — Collars and cufTs, made either of linen, 
cambric, or muslin and lace. 

JLisere. — A narrow edging or binding. 

JLisiere. — Selvedge ; applied also to the colored edges 
of silks. 

Manche. — Sleeve. 

Afajzckette. — CufF. 

Afanteau. — Cloak. 

Mule. — A heelless slipper. 

JVceud. — A bow, or knot. 

JVoue. — Tied, or knotted. 

Oin b relle . — Parasol . 

Pareinent. — Cuff on the outside of a sleeve. 

Parure. — A set of collars and cuffs ; applied also to a 
set of jewelery or ornaments. 

Passant. — Piping without a cord. 

Passe. — The front of a bonnet or cap. 

Peignoir. — Dressing gown ; dressing jacket. 

Pelerine. — A small mantle, rounded like a cape. 

Petit cote. — Side-piece. 

Plastron. — Breast-piece ; a piece put on the front or 
back of a dress bodice, generally of a different color and 
material. 

/Y/.— Fold. 

P//^.— Folds. 

Plise. — A plait, or fold. 

Plisses. — Plaits. 



^9 

Ras-terre, — Just touching the ground. 

Retaj^er. — To do up a bonnet or hat. (Milliner's term 
only.) 

Robe. — Dress. 

Robe de chainbre. — Dressing or morning gown. 

Rouleautes. — The same. 

Rouleaux. — Rolled trimming made of crossway strips 
of material. 

Ruches. — Gathered trimmings ; called ruches here, 

Saut de lit. — Dressing-gown. 

Simuler .—'^\v(\vi\.2i\.Q ; to imitate. 

Soulier. — Shoe. 

Taille. —'W^iist^ or figure. » - 

Tournure. — A bustle ; also the general appearance of 
a dress, costume, or person. Ex. — Tournure distinguee, 
lady-like appearance. 

Traine. — A train. A traine. — ^With a train. 

Tunique. — Tunic. 

Tuyaux. — Fluted plaitings. 

Tuyaux d'orgue. — ^Wide flutings, like the pipes of an 
organ. 

Velours. — Velvet. 

Veloute. — Soft, like velvet. 

Vetement. — Garment. 

Volant, — Flounce or frill. 



STITCHES, SEAMS, &c. 

The stitches used in dressmaking differ very slightly 
from those employed in plain work ; still there is a little 
difference in the mode of working each which should be 
attended to. We therefore give illustrations and descrip- 
tion^ of each. 



20 



Simple as is the running stitch, it requires considerable 
care in taking the exact number of threads up at each en- 
try of the needle. This applies particularly to the run- 
ning together of silk breadths for skirts, and to grenadines 
and other similar fabrics. Runningr is used for seams of 




skirts, putting on trimmings, and in connection with felling 
and stitching, for sleeve seams and French seams. In 
running two widths together, care must be taken to draw 
the thread tightly to avoid all puckering, drawing up of 
the material ; and on heavy material an occasional back- 
stitch is necessary when working upon dress skirts. 




Fig. 2. Back Stitching. 

Tacking, or basting, is running upon an exaggerated 
scale, introducing stitches from two to three inches apart. 

Stitching, which is used for all body seams, is exactly 
the same as that used in plain work. In stitching the 
fronts and the side pieces to the back, the same number 
of threads must be taken up each time on the needle to 



21 



produce the pearl-like appearance so remarkable in the 
work of good dressmakers. For stitching bodice seams, 
the stitches may be less carefully executed, but no care- 
less work is allowable. 




Fig. 3. Bodice Seam. 

Seams of bodices are usually stitched, and overcast (^see 

The overcast stitch is merely a sewing stitch, taken from 
left to right instead of right to left, as in ordinary sewing ; 




Fig. 4. Freucli Seam (begun). 

it is also taken much deeper into the fabric; our illustra- 
tion, in fact, does not show the stitch taken with sufficient 
depth. 



22 



But some materials require seams made with a French 
seam. The seam is closely run as near to the edge as pos- 
sible, and on the right side of the fabric ; the seam is then 
turned over and stitched on the wrong side, just below the 
turned-in portion. 

! 



1 



rig. 5, Freuch Seam (complete). 

French seams are used for clear, transparent materials, 
and for unlined fabrics ; they are useful wherever it is desir- 
able to have the inside as neatly finished as the outer side. 

French seams are often used in making up lace, net, 
&c. ; this is not a good practice ; the best modistes stitch 




ll;l^^^^^^^^'!,'!'!lll(lllllHMllllMrlMlllllllNii!!Ml!"j;!l;]|] 

jjjji'iBiliiiiiilii 



Fig. 6. The EoUed Hem. 

net and lace fabrics, then cut the edges close and overcast 
into every hole of the net or lace, the seam is then scarce- 
ly visible. As lace and net are frequently worn over col- 
ored silks, it is most important to secure an almost invisi- 
ble seam. 



23 

Cloth and thick materials are often finished by being 
turned over and stitched down. If hand-stitched, this 
kind of hem need not be tacked, but for sewing machine 
work it is best to do so. 




Fig. 7. llemmmg. 

Few finishes for muslin dresses are prettier than the 
stitched hem. For children's dresses, the stitched 
hem is often worked with a silk contrasting in color, 
which gives the effect of a Russia braid. Tarlatan ball 
dress flounces, stitched with white, or with colored silk, 
look admirably, and are thus trimmed at trifling expense. 




Fig. 8. Stitched Hem. 

Another mode of hemming used by dressmakers is 
called by French modistes "half hem," and is used for 
keeping up the lining of dresses in position ; the stitches 
are taken very far apart, and the needle is inserted slant- 
ing so as to take up the least piece at a time, in order not 
to show on the right side. This is easy enough on thick 
fabrics, as cloth, serge, rep, and poplin, but very difficult 
on thick silk, when, as it is not possible to preserve the 



24 



stitches from showing on the right side, the stitches are 
much closer together, and set at exactly even distances. 

The false hem is so called because it apj^ears to be what 
it is not — part of the dress turned under and hemmed up. 

False hems are added to the edges of dresses, and used 
in many ways in dressmaking. Fig. 9 illustrates this hem. 




C, the 

false or additional hem. The false hem C is stitched to 
the lining ; the lining and false hem are pieces of materi- 
al run at the edge of the skirt, on the right side, turned up 
over on the wrong side, and lightly hemmed down by 
slip-stitches, as shown in the illustration. 



25 



Various fabrics are employed for false hems. When 
economy is no object the dress material is used, or -a poor 
silk or sarcenet, matching in color, and lined or not with 
muslin, according to the requirements of the dress fabric. 
If lined with muslin, it is usually cut the selvedge ^vay, 
in order to secure long pieces, and small plaits are laid 
where requisite, but the more careful dressmaker will cut 
her lining exactly shaped to the dress, and we need not 




Fi^. 10. Gathering 

say that the effect is better, although, for ordinary dresses, 
it is not considered worth while .to devote so much time 
and labor to the false hem lining. Dressmakers as a rule, 
do not hem the lining up when the skirt is trimmed, as the 
firm work used to keep the trimming in place also keeps 
the lining in position. The edge of the lining is nicked 
with the scissors in points, like pinking, to prevent fray- 



26 



ing. But this must be cut carefully In neat zigzags, as, 
if carelessly cut it will look very untidy. 

Gauging, or gathering, is required in many parts of 
dressmaking. Formerly all dresses were gathered, before 
the great plaits came in ; and many dresses are now 
gauged at the back plait. Gathering is employed for 
drawn sleeves, bouillons, and for all gathered flounces. 
The stitches must be very carefully taken, and in each row 
of gauging the same threads must be taken up as in the 




Fig. 11. striking Down Gauging. 

preceding row. See Fig. 13. When a bouillon is gath- 
ered, however, exactly the reverse of this is done ; the 
the top edge is gathered first, and when gathering the low- 
er edge, the stitches are arranged so as to take up all the 
intervals passed over in the upper or first gathering, and 
to this secret nearly all the beauty of the bouillon is due. 
Gathering is sewn in to a band, as shown in illustration 
12, and is tucked down under rouleaux, or other super- 



27 



posed trimming. When skirts, or portions of skirts, are 
gathered, the gauging is longer, and is not only sewn in 
fold b}' fold, but one or two rows of slip-stitches are taken 



iil^^ 






mm im 

IHIIIII iillii 
f/i||||j!j|lll 

/Hilllllllllllii^^^P 
"'lllllllllllftl^w*^ 

Fig. 12. Gathered Flouncing Sewn in Band. 

about one inch below the lowest, in order to keep the 
gauged folds in exact position. Very strong waxed cot- 




Fig. 13. Double; Gauging. 

ton should be used for sewing in gathers, but silk is pref- 
erable to any kind of cotton for this purpose. 



28 



The illustration Fig. 14 shows the mode of sewing in the 
wide gathers used at the back of children's dresses. The 
material is very evenly gathered on a firm thread, drawn uj-) 
on this thread, and the end of the thread wound under 
and over a pin, to keep it as tightly as required during the 
process of sewing in the band. 

As will be seen from our illustration, every fold is sew^n 
firmly in place, and the fulness is managed according to 
the quantity of material to be sewn into the given space 
of the band. 




Fi; 



14. Sewing in Dress Giithers. 



At a distance of from one inch to an inch and a half 
from the top, the gathers are fimly caught down by 
slij^ped stitches. This gives great solidity to the work. 
Gathers are much used for children's dresses and for pe- 
lisses. A strong thread should be run through all the 
edges of the top of the gathers. 



CORDINGS AND BINDINGS. 

Cording is extensively used in dressmaking, and for 
this work great nicety is required. Cording can be made 
single, double, treble, or quadruple, though this is seldom 
done ; but the principle of every kind of cording or pip-" 
ing can be learnt from the following : — Cut the material 
in exact crossway or bias lengths (for single cording it 
should be narrower than for double) ; tor single cording 
the cord is placed in the center of the bias piece, and the 
material folded over and run in place, as shown on the 
upper edge of Fig. i6, and the edges turned under and 
hemmed down as here illustrated. 




Fig. 15. Single Cording. 



In making double cording, both edges are folded over 
the cord, and when run, the two cords are put together, 
and run or stitched to the material. Experienced work- 
women arrange and make the cord as they put it on the 
work ; but this is by no means an easy plan for beginners, 
who will do well to make each cord separately and neatly 
before attempting to finish a dress bodice with cording. 
Bodices are often edged with a double cordinsr of the 



30 

same, or of contrasting material ; flounces are sometimes 
corded with another shade of color, and ball dresses of 
white tarlatan look admirably when finished with satin 
cordings. 




Fig. 16. Double Cording. 

Binding is used In dressmaking, both as a trimming and 
as a secure finish, as at the edges of dresses, &c. Our il- 
lustration shows binding hemmed on on both sides of the 
braid ; but binding is often run on one side and hemmed 




No. 17. Binding 

on the other ; and again, on thin materials the braid is 
simply folded in half and run on, taking the stitches 
through on the other side. This mode is used in bind- 
ing tarlatan flounces with satin ribbon, &c. 



31 

Our illustration, Fig. i8, shows a bias flounce, finished 
at the edge by a narrow hem of bias silk ; it will be seen 
that both fabrics are cut strictly bias, and that the silk is 
placed right side downwards upon the right side of the 
flounce, when it is run on closely but lightly at one-eighth 



18, Bias Binding. 

of an inch from the edge, turned over, and felled on the 
wrong side over the turned-in portion, and no stitch is of 
course seen on the right side. 

Fig. 19 illustrates a hem bound with the same material ; 
this is done precisely like the above. Another mode of 
producing a similar effect is managed thus :— Cut the bias 
flounce a little longer than is actually required, turn down 
on the right side of the fabric one-eighth of an inch more 
than is required for the rolled bind ; run closely at one- 
eighth of an inch from the edge, pulling the cotton rather 
tightly, and finishing off very securely ; then fold back 
the turned-down piece, and fell down on the wrong side ; 
the effect will be similar to that of Fig. 19. 

Cording, bound hems, and rolled hems are all esssen- 
tial portions of dressmaking, and are regularly taught to 



32 



apprentices. Ladies who desire to make practical use of 
these instructions must not grudge devoting some Httle 




*• Fig. 19. Hem Bound with Silk. 

time, which will well repay their trouble, to the acquire- 
ment of these details in the art of dressmaking. 



CUTTING BY MEASURE. 

The most important thing in making the simplest, as 
well as the most complicated, garment, is to know how to 
take the exact measure of th.e person for whom the gar- 
ment is intended. This operation once carefully per- 
formed, success is sure to follow, and the dresses made at 
home w^ill fit as well as if they came out of the hands of a 
first-rate dressmaker. 



33 

No trouble is too great to bestow upon cutting out ; up- 
on the accuracy and care displayed in cutting out depend 
the fit of the dress ; stitching may be unpicked and re- 
made, but a badly cut dress is without remedy. 

We will ask our readers to examine closely the two fig- 
ures, (20 and 21,) and to follow the numbers marked, 
writing them down at the time in a note-book. Take, 
with a yard measure, the first measurement, Fig. 20, the 
length of the bodice in front ; write it down fully, front of 
bodice, or simply designate it as No. i. 

After a little time the numbers will be understood at 
once. 

The second measurement is round the neck ; the third, 
the width of the chest at the top of the shoulder ; the 
fourth is taken from the neck crossways to the waist ; the 
fifth takes the chest at the widest part, it is generally 
taken with the back, which corresponds with it, and is 
marked No. 5, the measure is put right round the body un- 
der the arms ; the sixth measurement is the size of the 
waist ; the seventh the length of the skirt in front ; the 
eighth the entire length of the arm to the wrist ; the ninth 
the armhole : this completes the front of the bodice. 

After the length of the skirt has been taken to the in- 
step, the hips must be measured round, as in Nos. 10 and 
1 1 ; now that dresses are worn tightly stretched over the 
hips, this measurement is quite indispensable. 

The second figure (21) gives the measurements at the 
back ; No. 12 is the length down the middle of the back ; 
No. 13, the width of the shoulders ; No. 14, the armhole, 
which is the same as in front ; and No. 15, which is taken 
round the body, has been already explained. The arm- 
hole has already been taken as No. 9. The length of the 
sleeve, with the elbow bent, must next be taken : it is 



18N 






36 

an important measurement, and is marked No. 17 ; the 
size of the wrist, No. 16. On the skirt we have already 
Nos. 10 and 11, which give the size round the hips; No. 
19 is the length of the skirt at the side, taken from the 
waist under the arm; and No. iS is the length of the 
train. 

We will suppose that the mode of taking measurements, 
as given in our lesson here, is understood thoroughly. 
We will begin by making a plain bodice, which will serve 
as a pattern for every kind of corsage. Fig. 23. 

Take a large sheet of paper, and begin by tracing the 
exact length of the line of the front — the length is taken 
from the center of the neck to the center of the waist ; 
from the neck trace a straight line the exact width of the 
chest, marked on the diagram 1,1; this line should be ex- 
actly half the width of the chest. Line No. 3 should be 
the length of the figure from the waist to the top of the 
shoulder ; this line is curved, as shown on the diagram for 
self-measurement. (See Figs. 20 and 21.) 

Line No. 2 is taken at the most prominent outline of 
the figure, and shoidd measure exactly half the chest 
measurement taken at its widest part ; a line (No. 4) is 
drawn from No. 2 to the waist. No. 4 ; this line is sloped 
if the figure is much curved, and falls well in at the 
waist. 

Now, thanks to these four lines exactly traced upon the 
measures taken, you can trace without difficulty your whole 
pattern. 

Between line 3 and the end of line i the curved line 
of the shoulder is drawn ; between the line and the be- 
ginning of No. I , you will draw the rounded line of the 
neck; between the extremities of lines i and 2, you will 
draw the outline of the armhole, which is well rounded 



37 



at the line No. 2. In cutting out, however, it is best not 
to exaggerate the size of the armhole, which can be cut 
away when tried on. 

The gores must be outlined but not cut, and are placed 
below the bosom. To ascertain exactly the proper posi- 
tion of the front gores, divide the width ot the chest into 
three ; thus, if one half of the chest measures twelve in- 
ches, the gore should be be begun four inches from the 
front line, taken at the waist ; let us call this b. The 
height of the gore is regulated by the position of tlie 




Fig. 22. Front of Bodice. 

bosom, a plait is begun at <z, and taken up to the round- 
ing of the bosom in a gradually lessening line, and kept 
in place by a tacking- thread. 

For the second gore, take again the third of the width 
of the chest (taken from just above the top of the first 
gore marked 3), and mark the point c on the pattern, then 
take a plait in a similar manner up to </, and tack firmly. 

Another mode of placing the gore is regulated by the 
waist line ; the measure of the waist is taken and divided 



38 



in half — the average waist being 24 inches, let us take that 
number for example — this gives six inches for each front ; 
the chest measures at its widest part 20 inches, half this 
gives 10 inches, and the difference between the 10 inches 
of the chest, and the 6 inches of the waist, gives us the 
material for one or two plaits or gores, which must 
always be in the center, just under the bosom. 

Occasionally bodices are made with three gores, the 
plaits on them less in depth and closer together, and 
placed at equal distances one from the other. Three 
gores look well only on bodices destined for very stout 
figures. 





Fig. 23. Back. 

If the bodice-front is either too large or too small, the 
alterations should be made by decreasing or increasing the 
size of the gores. 

To cut the back by measure, yve proceed in a similar 
manner. A perpendicular line must first be traced (38), 
a second line, width of shoulder (i) ; a third line, width 
of back(2) ; and a fourth line (5), from the shoulder-top 
to the waist ; between these lines the curs^ed line of the 
neck, shoulder, armhole, and round of the back must be 



39 



traced ; from the top of line 38 to point 5 is the curve of 
the neck, from 5 to i the shoulder curve, from i to 2 the 
armhole cun-e, from 19 to c the curve of the back in 
which the side piece is placed. The side-piece (Fig. 24) 
fits in at 2 and </ and is simply employed as a means of 
of ornament to the back ; the measures for the side- 
piece are taken from the length from under the arm. 
No. 4, to the waist, marked 4 also ; the cui-ved line 




Fig. 25. Diagram of Sleeve. 



No. 2, must necessarily correspond exactly with the 
curve of the back upon which it is stitched. Upon the 
shape of the side-pieces and the neatness of their stitch- 
ing much of the beauty of the back depends. The inex- 
perienced dressmaker would do well to avoid making 
them, as very stylish bodices can be made without 
them. 



40 

To cut a sleeve by measure, we must take the length of 
the arm outside, like 17 (diagram for self-measurement), 
and on the inside line 8 (same diagram) the size of armhole, 
line 9, and wrist, line 15 ; then measure from armhole to 
elbow when the arm is curved, and draw a rounded line from 
that point to the wrist. In tracing the under side, take 
care to hollow out the under side of the sleeve at the arm- 
hole. Fig. 25 shows the sleeve both coat-shape and also 
open. For an open sleeve the outer edge is prolonged, 
the inner edge shortened, and a line drawn, either straight 
or scalloped, between the two. 

An important part of cutting out sleeves is the position 
of the elbow, which varies with every arm ; sometimes 
the under part of the sleeve is cut narrower than the 
upper side, according to the exigencies of the reigning 
fashions. 

The above directions are for tracing out a plain bodice 
by measure, the bodice consisting of the four pieces 
shown here, viz., Front, Back, Side-piece, and Sleeve. 

These must be regarded as the foundation for the real 
dress lining. Take the traced pattern, cut it out carefully 
on the outline, and place the paper pattern on the lining ; 
pin firmly, and trace out the outline, proceeding as direc- 
ted on pages 54 and 55. 

Basques, or the jacket part of the corsage, are of many 
shapes, some being added to the bodice, others cut in one 
piece v/ith it. Nearly all modern bodice basques are cut 
in one piece with the upper parts of the bodice. In order 
to cut a basqued bodice, when the pattern is a plain round 
waisted one, it is only necessary to place the paper pat- 
tern, traced from a Diagram Sheet or from a paper model 
on the waist of the bodice, tacking it lightly, and outlin- 
ing it with the rest of the pattern. 



41 



Stout full figures look best with the basques canned 
towards the hips and slashed, or cut open at the back and 
sides. 



CUTTING OUT MATERIAL. 

In cutting out a bodice, whatever be its shape, certain 
rules are always followed : the pattern is first cut out in 
lining, and then in the material. The widths of fabrics 
vary — some velvets being eighteen inches wide only, 
while cashmere, merino, and many mixed goods, are forty 
inches wide. . 

When a fabric is too narrow to cut the fronts of a dress- 
bodice Vvdien folded in half, each front must be cut sepa- 
rately ; side-pieces, part of sleeve, or backs, may, by a 
little management, be cut out of the piece remaining. It 
is well for beginners to pin ever}^ part of the pattern in 
position before cutting out any j^icce, or to chalk the out- 
line as is done by tailors, before cutting out. 

In cutting out on narrow fabrics, it is necssary to add to 
the gores of dresses. Fig. 26 shows the mode of cutting 
the additional piece v^hich is run on the gore at the sel- 
vedges, marked on our illustration by a dotted line. Fig. 
26 also shows the mode of placing the front of a Princess 
dress on the material. But this economical mode of ar- 
ranging and cutting out can only be done when we have 
either a plain material or a pattern alike both up and do\vn 
the material, as geometric patterns often are. We give an 
illustration of this mode of cutting, because it is less easi- 
ly arranged than are smaller patterns. Half only of the 
pattern is here given. It is not advisable for beginners to 
cut two parts — as two side-pieces, for instance — together. 
Better have a little more patience and a well-cut garment 
than save a little time to be lost again over rectifying errors. 



42 



Tunics, tabliers, peplunes, double skirts, polonaise, or 
by whatever name the top or over-garment is called, are 
all cut in a similar way. Double-width materials are 




Fig. 26 



Mode of Adding to Fabrics for Wide Patterns. 

folded at the center, and the fronts of tabliers and tunics 
placed along the fold. Jackets are cut as jacket-bodices, 
but differ usually in size and trimming. 



43 



Cutting bias or crossway of the material presents some 
little difficulty to the novice, yet it is most important that 
bias cutting should be learned, for it# is much used in 
dress-making. The material is laid before the worker 
with the selvedge along the edge of the table, and the cor- 
ner raised and folded to the top or upper selvedge line, so as 
to place the straight cut end of the fabric along the selvedge 
line ; this is carefully pinned down, and the fabric creased 
where the natural fold occurs. This is the exact cross of the 
fabric, and this fold is cut through, leaving a half-square 
piece (which is laid on one side) and a true bias or cross- 




rig. 27. Mode of Cutting Bias. 



cut line on the fabric. The width of the bias pieces you 
require is next ascertained. We will suppose a six-inch 
bia^ is required ; measure six inches at both selvedges, 
turn the material down, and pin firmly ; then fold the 
other selvedge down six inches, and crease the fabric as 
before cutting on the creased line, as was done with the 
first bias cut; this is repeated as many times as you 
require bias pieces. One point to remember in cutting 
bias is that if you require a six-inch-wide flounce, you must 
cut your bias pieces eight inches, as, if you measure six 
inches on the selvedges, your flounce will measure about 



44 



four only. Beginners, to save themselves the trouble of 
measuring each bias piece, often place the first cut bias 
on the material, and cut along the outline, which thus 
causes the bias to be untrue, and consequently not to hang 
well. Practising on paper is the best mode of learning 
to cut bias properly, and cutting by measure is the only 
safe way for beginners. Experienced hands take the ma- 
terial thus : — At first a very straight line is cut at the edge 
of the material, a perfect bias line is made by folding up 
the corners as here described, and the required width is 




FOLDING BIAS 

Fig. 28. Jlode of Folding Bias. 



marked off at once with chalk on each side of the selvedge, 
rapid folding and cutting follows, for as all the measures 
are exactly and carefull}^ marked, very little delay occurs 
with tlie rest of the work. 

Great care is required in cutting bias on twilled fabrics. 
The material should be laid right side down to the table, 
and the left-hand corner turned over, as for cutting ordina- 
ry. This brings the right side up^Dcrmost, and the lines 
of the twill appear i:)erpendicular. The same rule applies 
to cutting: bias on crape. 



CUTTING OUT. SKIRTS. 

The first part of the skh't of a dress to be cut out is the 
front breadth. The exact height must be taken, and 4 in- 
ches extra allowed for turning in at the bottom, and for 
the slope at the top ; the breadth must be 24 inches at the 
hem, and from 10 to 1 3 inches at the top, depending on 
the fio'ure of the wearer. In cuttinsf the sides of the 
front breadth, about 8 inches are left straight above the 
hem, and from thence to the top sides are cut with a slight 
outward curve. These breadths used to be cut with a 
plain slanting line from the hem to the waist, but since 
tightly-fitting skirts have come into fashion, the new 
method of cutting them has been adoj^ted, as it makes the 
skirt fit better. A piece is cut out in a rounded shape 
from the top of the breadth, deepest in the middle, and 
the front breadth is completed. 

In cutting the first gores, 2 inches extra must be 
allowed for the length, as the straight side has to be the 
same length as the sloping side of the front. The top of 
the gores is rather more than half the width of the top of 
the front breadth ; the material is folded slanting, and the 
two gores are cut ; at tlie top of the straight side a small 
piece is cut off" in a rather curved line, about an inch wide 
at the top, and sloping off* to nothing, at about 15 inches 
-below the waist : this is done to improve the fit of the 
dress over the hips. At the edge the width must be re- 
duced to 16 inches for very tight dresses, or to 18 inches 
for moderate ones ; this is done by cutting off the sur- 
plus material on the slanting side up to half the length of 
the gore. These two parts, the front breadth and the 
first gore, never vary, no matter whether the dress be 
short or trained. 



46 



The top of the second gore must be the same width as 
half the top of the front breadth, and the bottom the 
width of the material, less the 5 or 6 inches required for 
the top of the other gore ; 2 inches more must be allowed 
for the length of the second gores, but they require no 



aa \ 




PLAIn\ WIDTH 




\ 




\ ^ 




\ 


\aou 



Fig. 29. Mode of Cutting Gores. 

other shaping, except at the top where a small piece is cut 
off both from the first and second gores, deepest on the 
straight side. 

One plain bi-eadth, 2 inches longer than the last gore, is 
put at the back, and this completes a short, or costume 



47 

skirt ; the material is supposed to be of the ordinary- 
width, that is, about 27 inches. 

If the skirt is to have a moderate train, 4 inches for ex- 
tra length must be allowed in the second gore, and 4 in- 
ches more again in the back breadth ; but in all cases the 
extra length must be divided between the second gore and 
the back breadth. 

When the skirt is made with a long train, three 
breadths are required at the back, and the extra length 
must be divided between them and the second gores ; the 
center breadth should not be made very much longer 
than the side ones, and must be rounded in the middle, 
not cut to. a point. If there is not material enough for 
this, the train may be made in the following way : — One 
whole breadth in the center, and a gored breadth on each 
side of it ; this gored breadth must, however, be the full 
width of the material at the bottom, and slope off to a 
width of 5 inches at the top. 

In cutting the gores where there is an up and down pat- 
tern, they must of course be cut one beyond the other, and 
the parts left used for sleeves, side-pieces, &c. 

This rule applies to velvet, velveteen, and to all fabrics 
having a raised pile which require to be made up with the 
pile brushed in one direction — /. ^., downwards. In cut- 
ting out material into gores, it is well for the inexperienced 
dressmaker to run the outline of each before cutting ; and 
this applies more particularly to cutting out fabrics the 
pattern of which Is Inverted by the gore. To economise 
material, portions of the bodice can be cut from the in- 
verted gores — as back, side-pieces, sleeves, cuffs, and false 
hem for the skirt. 

When the material has a right and a wrong side, lay 
one pattern of each gore on the stuff, cut them out, and 



48 

then fold the cut gores over onto the stuff, to cut the oth- 
ers ; the gores must be either face to face, or back to back, 
and then when they are taken apart it will be found that 
there is one of each for either side. 



BANDING MODERN SKIRTS.— (French Style.) 

In putting the skirt into a band, the opening is now 
generally made between the second gore and the back 
breadth ; the latter is folded into a double or treble box- 
plait, and made to wrap over the gore almost to the seam 
between the first and second gores : the other side is ar- 
ranged in the same way, only without an opening. Small 
plaits are put between the front and first gore, and again 
between the first and second gores, to hide the seams ; 
the front and sides are sewn to the waist-band the fulness 
being held towards the worker. 

The pocket is put between the first and second gores, 
about 2 or 3 inches below the v/alst, and lined at the top 
with the same material as the dress. 

The skirt should be cut from a new model, and should 
be from 3 1-3 to 4 )'ards round, the front gored, and the 
side width slightly shaped, the back plain ; begin to stitch 
from the top to the edge, cut off any unevenness there, 
and overcast all the seams, leaving a hole for pocket, and 
make placket-hole. The edge of the skirt is faced 
with muslin, stitched one inch from the edge, which is 
then folded over one inch, and tacked with very long 
stitches, the muslin is smoothly laid over the skirt, and 
hemmed at a distance of from 3 to 4 inches. This hem- 
ming is very slightly taken, in order not to be seen on the 
other side. 



BACK 
PLAIN WIDTH 




fig. 30. Showing the Shape of Gores and Mode of arranging a Skirt. 



50 



It is well to baste the edge before hemming it, as little 
plaits must be put in it, and the basting shows exactly where 
the plaits will fall. 

The present mode demands that the front and side 
widths be put in the band as plainly over the figure as the 
contour will permit, only one or two slight plaits being 
allowable to make the skirt sit easily at the waist ; the 
whole fulness is at the back, where a double box-plait is 
placed, forming the Bulgare plait now so often men- 
tioned in pages of Fashion Journals. 




Fig. 31. Skirt and Band. Made up. 

Dress skirts are sewn in a band of strongly made rib- 
bon. 

When the dress fastens at the back, the size of the waist 
is taken exactly on the band, but not cut, the center 
marked by a pin. The left side of the waistband (when on) 
has two strong eyes sewn on" the exact edge of the band ; 
two hooks are sewn on the under part of the right-hand 
side of the band, and one hook an inch and a half dis- 
tant from these. The left-hand waistband is continued 



I 



51 

for two inches longer than the waist measurement, and 
on it an eye is sewn one inch and a half from the first 
two ej^es. 

In sewing-in the dress the material is sewn plainly, 
without any fulness, on this portion of the band, and is 
then measured off into center and quarters. Formerly 
the dress was arranged pretty evenly all round ; but now, 
as we before remarked, the whole fulness is thrown to 
the back, whether the Bulgare plait is used or a simple 
plain gathering. 

In putting in a Bulgare plait, the plait is simply cen- 
tered and folded as a box-plait, from three to four inches 
wide when finished. 

In measuring off widths for the skirt the hem is al- 
lowed for in thin fabrics only, as muslin, barege, &c. ; 
but heavy fabrics, as woollen materials, silks, velvets, &c., 
have always a false hem of alpaca or stiff muslin, in 
wdiich case an extra inch allowed for turnings both top 
and bottom will be found sufficient. 

False hems are cut lengthwise, and not across the mus- 
lin, alpaca, or of whatever fabric the false hem consists. 



ON DRESS FABRICS. 

Materials for dresses vary so much in width that the 
beginner needs especial directions respecting the peculiar- 
ity of each. Fancy names arc, however, given by drapers 
to certain fancy goods each season, and in many cases the 
same fabric is sold under four or five hlsfh soundins: and 
more or less applicable names. Special makes, too, in 
silks and cashmere, present other difficulties to the learn- 
er, requiring special instructions in cutting-out. Yet there 
are certain time-honored dress materials the widths of 



53 



which are unchanged from year to year, and as these are 
also the most useful and durable materials for dressmaking, 
we will confine our attention at this early period of our 
lessons to these. 

Silks, poplins, merino, cashmere, alpaca, velveteen, 
muslin, print, and pique form a sufficient number of ma- 
terials to learn to cut out upon. 

The beginner would do well to make print and muslin 
the fabrics upon which to try her " 'prentice hand." 

Nearly all patterns are calculated for dress materials of 
27 inches wide, this being the ordinary and accepted 
width for dress fabrics, and, as we must take some stand- 
ard to avoid repetition, it is upon this basis that our 
patterns are drawn. As a matter of knowledge, the fdl- 
lovv'ing table of the widths of various fabrics has been 
drawn u^d ; it will, we hope, be useful to many, as even 
when rich fabrics — velvet for instance — are not required 
for dresses, yet small quantities are often wanted for trim- 
mings, and so we add this and other rich fabrics to our list. 



TABLE OF FABRICS 


AND TPIE VARIOUS WIDTHS 


OF 


EACH. 










Inches. 


Barathea 






. 


42 





Crape 






. . 


23 


43 — 


Crepe de Chine 




• 


24 





Satin 






• . 


iS 


27 — 


IMuslin 






. . 


33 




Prints 






. 


33 





Piques 






. 


33 





Percales 






. 


33 





Bonnet and 


Trimming 


Silks, as Ottoman 




Turquoise 




. 


. 


iS 


20 


Serge 




. 


. 


28 


32 — 


Tweed 




. 


. 


28 


54 60 



53 



Foulard 








Inches. 
24 


Damask 










India Silks . 








32 34 — 


Janus Cord . 








2832 - 


Merino 
Cashmere 








45 4^ — 
46 


Mousseline de Lalne 








26 


Paramatta 








42 


Grenadine 










Velvet 








18 20 — 


Black Silk . 








22 26 — 


Colored Silk . 








22 26 — 


Popliii 
Rep 

Alpaca, 1st quality 
Alpaca, 2nd- quality 
Velveteen 








30 32 — 
30 3- — 
30 3^ 54 
24 36 — 

. 27 28 - 


Challe 








28 


Beige 








. 25 28 - 


Cloth 








38 54 60 



CUTTING-OUT AND MAKING-UP. 

Dressmaking Is an employment which requires the use 
of an undisturbed room, or part of a room, "svhere one 
need not clear up the table and remove one's work ; a 
good practical sewing machine ; a well-fitting bodice, or 
a paper pattern (a fasliionably-cut paper pattern) of one 
garment In question. A large table, pins, needles, cot- 
tons and silks for basting and for machine, cutting out 
scissors, small scissors, and button-hole scissors, chalk, inch 
measure, hooks, eyes, waistband, some linen, silk, and all 
the odds and ends of needlework. 



54 

Cutting Out, Putting Together, and Finishing. — 
Have your table covered with green baize, drawn in tight- 




rig. 32. Arrangement of Patterns on Cloth. 

ly beneath the top ; unless you prefer, as many do, a plain 
wood table, or a board and trestles. Which ever is chosen. 



55 



the table should be at least six feet long by four wide. On 
this place your lining, which should be of soft twill, either 
white or grey, according to the color of your dress. The 
lining should be rolled up and the cut endlie across you as 

A j 

I 




Fig. 32. (a). Continuation of Fig. 32. 

you stand, the selvedges straight in front, — Figs. 33 and 33 
{a) — on the left-hand selvedge place your right-hand front 
of bodice, which you will know by the button-holes ; pin 
the edge where the button-holes are to the selvedge, allow- 

NOTE.— The size of our page compels us to divide the diagram for laying-out of 
the patterns, but the reader will understand that Figs. 32 and 32 (a) are supposed to 
be one, and the dotted line is continuous. 



56 

ing an inch and a half for the turn-in ; then smooth out the 
front to the arm-hole, then pin down the front gores, then 
the seam at the side ; spread the hand lightly over the up- 
per part to the shoulder ; pin down. With a long basting 
needle and basting thread run the whole outline in black 
on white, or white thread on grey ; do this carefully, tak- 
ing three stitches to one inch or two. Place the left-hand 
side (where the buttons are) on the front, opposite side of 
the lining, and proceed first to pin, and secondly to run 
the outline as before described. 

Remove both fronts, and pull the lining so as to unroll 
a little more. Take the back, and place the center of 
back one inch from the selvedge ; pin down, and outline 
as you did the fronts, then do the second half on the other 
selvedge (for backs are often made with one central seam 
only, but side pieces are again coming into fashion) ; then 
place your sleeve both upper and under side on the lining 
(you will find room for part of one between the two back 
pieces) . The upper part of the sleeve is always placed 
straight, which throws the part below the elbow on a gen- 
tle cross or bias line of the fabric. 

When you have thus. outlined the whole bodice, cut out 
each outlined piece half an incli from the outline thread ; 
this half-inch is for turnings. The only parts you do not 
cut half an inch from outline are the two front edges, 
which, as stated above, are placed one and a half inch 
from selvedge, and are not cut at all. Now clear away 
your lining, roll, and write the lettters R and L on the 
fronts, left and right, and a T on the upper or top part of 
sleeve. Also pencil R and L on your sleeves, or you are 
likely to put them in wrongly presently. 

On the baize cloth place a clean sheet of linen, or paper, 
if your dress material is delicate, if not, the clean baize 



57 

will not Injure It, and begin to cut your bodice from the 
material which should lie wrong side uppermost, placing 
the roll or piece about a yard from you, and spreading the 
fabric smoothly as you did the lining. Do not be ner- 
vous at cutting Into the fabric, for the work done on the 
lining Is really the most Important. Place the front lin- 
ings R and L on the fabric, pin here and there the lining 
to It, noticing that It lies quite smoothly beneath the lin- 
ing, then tack the lining to the material with long stitches 
about a quarter-inch Inside the outlined stitches, and cut 
out on the exact edge of the lining. 

Be very careful and exact In this. Cut every piece in 
the same manner. Then thread the machine with the 
colored silk you have got to match your material, and 
stitch the central back seam, which you will do exactly 
on the outlined thread. The two halves of the back 
with their tacked turning are naturally laid face to face, 
and you can see at once if you have put them correctly, 
by opening them out after inserting the one or two pins, 
which are all that is necessary to keep the work In place 
for the machine. 

Finish off the seam with a needle, and lay the back 
aside. Then double back the right-hand front exactly on 
the outlined thread, and stitch a row of neat small stitch- 
es close to the edge. Here v/e may remark that the rule 
for this Is to run the guide close to the cloth presser, and 
so we get the stitching as close as the width of space be- 
tween the needle-hole and the edge of presser, ^vhich is 
some distance from the edge. 

Then place the front gores together and stitch ahvays 
on the outlines^ the two seams formed by these. Stitch a 
line on the outline thread of the left-hand front, but do 
not turn In the piece allowed (i i-3 inch) for turnings, as 



ss 



it forms a flap to conceal any white the button-holes may 
chance to show. The front left gores must be stitched ex- 
actly as on the right side, and now stitch the sides of the 
front and back together, always on the outlined stitches, 
and then the shoulders. The sleeves follow, and should 
be stitched and left inside-out to be finished. 




Fig. 



Casing for Whalebone. 



The next thing to do is to cut some bias or cross pieces, 
for cording is now seldom used, save as trimming. The 
neck has to be bound with a narrow bias band, and the 
sleeves w^ant a short facing of bias also. 

The band for the neck should be i 1-3 inch, to allow 
for turning. Stitch one side on the outline thread of the 
neck. Cut the turning-in quite within 1-4 inch of the 



59 



stitches, and turn the bias over and hem down neatly on* 
the other side. Face the sleeve in the same v^ay ; but 
turn down the outside a little way in, forming a fold, so 
that the facing does not show. Facings for coat-sleeves 
are from three to four inches deep, and should be cut from 
the wrist-end of the sleeve-pattern out of a piece of bias 
material. Every seam must now be over-cast, and casings 




Fig. 34. Mode of Inserting Whalebone. 

for small whalebone inserted. Stitch the casings on the 
the seam, and put the bones in, and then overcast. Bones 
are used in the two front gores and at the side waist-seams. 
Add the buttons, sewing them on firmly. 

The waist is finished by basques, it a jacket ; by a cord 
if a round waist ; and by a band if a waistband or sash is 
intended to be worn. The lining extends to the waist on- 



6o 



ly, where It is hemmed, and a tape run to tie round the 
waist, or a ribbon band with hooks and eyes, which is 
still neater. 

Work the button-holes with tailors' twist. 
• Of tailors' twist it takes one length to work a large but- 
ton-hole. The easiest way of placing buttons and button- 
holes even, is this : — Pin your tape measure down on one 
of the fronts, and put in a pin at an inch and a half from 
the top of the bind, and add a pin at every inch and a half 
all the way down ; repeat this on the other side. Work 
the button-holes on what is the right-hand front when on, 
and sew the buttons on what is the left-hand front when 
on, exactly on the spot marked by the pins. 




Fig. 35. Plain Buttonholes. 

button-holes. — A perfectly straight cut must be made 
for each button-hole, long enough for the button to pass 
through easily ; but before cutting the button-hole it Is bet- 
ter to run it round twice with the twist, leaving two 
threads of the stuff between the two Inner rows of stitches', 
and only one thread between the inner and outer rows, the 
button-hole being cut between the t^vo Inside rows. 

Fig. 35 shows button-holes worked on a ribbon, or on a 
piece of the material which is sewn on under the front of 
the dress, and when fListcned wholly conceals the buttons. 

BuLtoii-holcs are \vorkcd from left to right, the eye of 
the needle being always near the hole, and the point below 



6i 



the second row of stitches ; the twist Is turned round the 
needle, which is pulled out and drawn upwards, that the 
stitch may close as near as possible to the edge of the cut. 
When one side of the button-hole is finished, a little bar is 




Fig. 3G. Piped Buttouliole. 

worked across the end, which ensures strength and unites 
the two sides. To make this bar, three or four stitches 
are worked across the width of the button-hole, and then 
worked back in button-hole stitch ; the other side is then 
worked, and the other cross bar last of all. 




Ko. 37. ripcd Buttonhole completed. 

Piped button-holes are sometimes used for veiy large 
buttons. Illustration Fig. 36 shows one in course of prep- 
aration, and Fig. 37 shows it completed. 

Loops are used in dressmaking for finishing muslin and 
grenadine dresses, and should be worked neatly and close- 
ly. They are often employed for closing fronts of dress 
when the trimming in front is composed of bows. 



63 



The bodice, after being joined at all the seams by the 
close stitching, and illustrated by Fig. 3, where the over- 
casting is also shown, is finished by the insertion of 
whalebones, which are always placed at the waist side 
seams, at the front gores, and often in the back of the dress 
of the center seam. The present mode, however, has a 
greater number of side pieces ; so, a greater quantity of 
whale-bones are employed, and the modern corsage is, on 
the reverse side, not unlike the antique corset, so garnished 
with bone does it appear. The whale-bones are carefully 
selected, and cut of the exact length required ; the ends 
are scraped with a sharp knife, or rubbed down by means 
of a file. The object of this scraping may not be obvious 
to the amateur dressmaker ; we therefore explain : — If the 
whalebone ends were left unscraped, the dress would be 
marked by the ridges ; but by bevelling these edges, the 
bones do not show in the least. Fig. 33 shows the casing 
prepared for the reception of the bone ; this casing is usu- 
ally made of tape, hemmed over the flattened seams, and 
slightly fixed on in hemming, as shown in our illustration. 
Fig. 34 shows the bone in place, fastened by a few stitches 
taken across the end to prevent it shifting up and down 
within the casing, which is the cause of whale-bones 
working through the dress. Before putting in the whale- 
bone, a small hole is placed through the thin scraped por- 
tion, and the stitches are taken through this hole, and thus 
the bone is firmly fixed. 

Fig. 38 shows an illustration of a bodice in course of 
completion. The various seams are shown ; the place for 
putting in the bones is indicated ; the button-holes and the 
marks where the buttons are sewn on will be observed ; all 
the seams are completed except those of the shoulder, 
which are left open to show the work in progress. 




Fig. S8. Bodice Half Fiuislied, 



SLEEVES.— DIFFERENT STYLES. 

Although the shape of sleeves often varies, there is one 
rule that never changes — The length of the sleeve above 
the arm is about two inches longe}"than U7ider the arin^ 
ivhcj-e it is cut out. 

The coat sleeve, being that which gives the shape of the 
arm best, will be first described. 




Fig. 39. Coat Sleeve. 

•^^&' 39* To draw this pattern, a horizontal line, a b^ 
must be made across the top of the paper. Place on this 
line half of the arm-hole measurement, and mark one end 
c and the other d ; then draw the length of the arm from 
(/to ^^in an oblique line. For the outer line of the sleeve, 
trace a straight line two inches above c, meeting the point 
y, and stop this line at^^, tlie center of the line d <?, where 
the elbow is situated, and prolong the line obliquely, par- 



6s 



allel with the Inner hnc ah-eady traced, but ending about 
an inch beyond it at/^. A line drawn from h to e shows 
the shaj^e at the lower edge, and must be measured to fxt 
the wrist. Two lines arc drawn at the top, that fro my* to 
d for the upper jDart of tlie sleeve, and that from f to /, 
which shows the portion that is cut out for the under part 
of the sleeve. 




Y\'^. 40. Open Sleeve. 

The under part of the sleeve is generally cut narrower 
from the top to just below the elbow. 

Method of Making. — The pattern is placed on the 
lining, which must be folded quite straight, and two 
pieces are cut for the upper part of the sleeves, and two 
more for the under part, allowing for all their respective 
curves. The stuff must be cut from the lining. The 



66 



sleeves are stitched all the way down the outer and under 
seams ; and, in order to make them look neat, only one 
piece of the lining will be stitched in, so that the other part 
can be hemmed over the seam, taking care not to let the 
stitches show on the right side. If this is not done, the 
seams must be sewn over. 

The opening of the wrist is hemmed or finished off with 
a false hem ; to do this, the stuff and the lining are both 
folded bact and joined together with slip-stitches or a 
binding. 

Various Shapes. — On this foundation a s'leeve, more 
or less long and wide, may be made; it maybe open, 
either partly or -entirely, on either side, and joined at in- 
tervals by some trimming, &c. 

Sleeves may also be cut in a single piece, leaving a per- 
fectly straight fold down the inner line d e ; but this is sel- 
dom done. 

Fig. 40. This sleeve Is more or less open, and gen- 
erally cut on the bias. After drawing across the top of the 
stuff or paper a horizontal line a <$, half the width of the 
armhole is put at one end <:, nearly two inches above a ; 
then, lowering it to the right at the other end d^ a line is 
drawn near the slanting measure, which gives the rounded 
part of the upper part of the sleeve. 

From d a curved line is drawn obliquely towards the 
lower part of the length required, ending at e. 

The more open the sleeve is, the more this line must 
•slant. After drawing a straight line from c toy*, the length 
of the sleeve, the lower part is drawn in any shape that is 
liked, either by the line to e or one of the other shapes 
shown on the illustration Fig. 40. 

The line c J"^ which gives the outer side of the sleeve, 
may be lengthened till it reaches the hem of the dress if 



67 



required, but the inner line d e must stop at the wrist, un- 
less a large fold or revers is wished for, which must be al- 
lowed for in the length. 

Method of Making. — This sleeve is cut in one piece, 
folded on the bias, and the fold turned towards the out- 
side length c f. 

It is joined by a seam like that in the coat sleeve. Like 
the latter, it can be left open at the inside seam, or even 
outside ; but more than this, it may be made of enormous 




Fig. 41. Gathered Sleeve, and Mode of Cutting, 

length, and, if narrow, tied to the other sleeve at the back 
of the costume. The sleeves may also be made less long, 
but of immense width, and all stjles of costumes can be 
represented by them — Oriental, mediaeval, Greek, &c. ; 
and they can have names such as judge, page, religious, 
funnel, leg of mutton, &c. ; when they are short and fin- 
ished off with lace they are called engageantes^ but these 
are rather under sleeves. 



6S 



Fig. 41. This pattern is so simple that it does not re- 
quire to be traced on paper. 

The sleeve is cut in one piece, folded straight, particu- 
larly if made in washing material, although it may also be 
cut on the bias. The upper part a b \s traced like that 
of the preceding sleeves, taking in the whole width of the 
stuff, which must be wider than the armhole c. The 
length depends on the length of the arm ; the corner d is 
cut off at the edge near the inner line b t/, which is slight- 
ly curved. 

The top and bottom parts must be plaited, or gathered, 
until they are the same size as the armhole and wrist, leav- 
ing a little space plain about an inch and a quarter near 
the under seam. These sleeves are generally finished off 
with a wristband. They may be varied in form, first, by 
not being put into a wristband, but by making up the gath- 
ering under a parement or revers ; they can also be gath- 
ered or bouillonne the whole way down, or gathered at the 
top only, and cut very narrow at the edge where they fit 
closely to the vs^rist. 

When the sleeves are fastened into the armholes, care 
must be taken to put them under the seam to the point 
where the width of the chest is measured. Sleeves can 
be trimmed in all sorts of ways, the trimming being made 
to correspond with the style of the dress with which they 
are worn. 

Another mode very much used by dressmakers for mak- 
ing up coat-sleeves is to place the right sides of material 
together, and the right side of lining together, stitch up, 
and turn them right side out. Both seam and stitches are 
then out of sight, and much time is saved by this way, but 
great care must be taken in turning the sleeve, or the ma- 
terial will be creased. 



69 

The parement, or cuff, is an important part of the sleeve 
trimniing. It can be really added to the sleeve, or mere- 
ly simulated by the trimming. Cording sleeves at the 
armholes is not now fashionable. 



TRIMMINGS. 

When we have thoroughly mastered the details of cut- 
ting, fitting, and fininishing, Trimming, an important part 
of dressmaking, lies before us, and one w^iich demands 
a quality which can neither be so taught nor purchased — 
Good Taste. It is this quality wdiich is prized, and 
which is so rare. 




Fig. 42. Bias of Two Materials. 

Trimmings for dresses are required when the material 
is poor, tliin, and transparent, when it is worn and 
shabby, or, again, when there is something In the figure of 
the wearer from which we wish to divert the eye. But 
trimmed dresses are not required by young girls or by 
good figures, neither should rich ladies be overladen vvitli 
costly garnitures. 

Again, certain fabrics should never be used as trim- 
mings upon other materials. Velveteen, for instance, 
cannot be ornamented with velvet bows, but must have 
faille or silk orliaments ; grenadine cannot be used as a 
trimming on washing fabrics, nor is white embroidery 
suitable with barege. Poplin looks best when velvet 
trimmed, but gros de Naples is not amiss w^ith it, while 



70 

turquoise and faille can both be employed as garnitures 
for cashmere, merinos, and all plain woollen goods. 
Clear fabrics, grenadines, and bareges look best self- 
trimmed, but foulard silk may be used with good effect. 
Passementerie, or gimp, as it used to be called, is suitable 




Fig. 43. Bias Border Half Made. 

on all opaque fabrics; and fringes, it must be remem- 
bered, are used to edge garments, and are placed under, 
and not upon, the fabrics they ornament. Velvet bands 
are used to outline the borders of the dress. 




Fig. 44. Bias Trimmiug. 

The effect of trimmings placed across the body is to 
widen it, while lengthway trimmings take from the ap- 
parent width, and add to the height. 

In Fig. 44 the upper bias is stitched down. Fig. 45 
shows a bias of thick material folded in such a manner 
that one side of it forms a piping to the other. 



7' 



The trimmings which serve most usefully to conceal the 
ravages of time-^on our toilettes are the bias folds here 
shown. Fig. 43 shows a bias of two materials, w^hlch 
forms a useful border for covering the marks show^ on 




Fig. 45. Stitched Bias. 

the removal of crape. Fig. 46 shows a bias four times 
folded, forming a wide band. The easiest way of making 
this band is to run long tacking threads on the wrong 
side, tacking each fold down lightly but firmly, and then 




Fig. 46. Four-Fold Bias. 

remove the tacking threads, continuing until all the folds 
are basted and run on ; the top fold of the bias must be 
neatly fastened down with slip stitches. 

Rouleaux have been much used for dress trimming, 
and may now be seen on mantles, and are also used for 
edging very fashionable dresses, as well as for plain skirts. 



73 



Ruches of various patterns are also employed for the 
purpose of trimming. . These patterns are changed nearly 



] 









% 



Fig. 47. Thick Rouleau. 




Fig. 49. Koulc II ' 

every season, so that it would be useless to present any 
collection in these pages. Two very pretty ones are 
shown in the illustrations, (Figs. 50 and 51.) 



' 73 

The clearness of the engraving (Fig. 50) explains how 
this ruche is made. The under part is first plaited up, 




Fig. 50. Double Buche for Dress Trimming, 

and the second or narrower strip is made and laid in the 
center, The trimming is very appropriate to muslin 
dresses when the ruche can be made of two materials. 




Fig. 51. The Fan Ruche for Dress Trimming. 

This ruche (Fig. 51) is intended for trimming dresses, 
and is newer than the plaitings, with fullness in the center. 
The plaits here are sewn on in clusters. 



LOW BODICES AND BALL DRESSES. 

The low bodice can be cut from a high bodice pattern, 
and should be allowed fully an inch and a half higher 
than the dress is intended to be when completed. The 
pattern should be placed upon lining which, for ball 
dresses, is usually fine lawn, which is soft, and yet strong 
enough to bear the strain of lacing. When the lining has 
been cut, basted, and accurately fitted to the figure, the 
upper part is turned down outside the dress, and creased 
down at the line where it is to be corded. The lowness 
of the corsage depends entirely upon the figure ; no rule 
for this can be given, but as crepe lisse and lace tuckers 
are always added to the low bodice, if the line is left too 
high it appears to cut the figure, while a line cut too low 
is immodest as it is vulgar. 

All the beauty of a ball dress depends upon the cut of 
this line ; therefore no pains should be spared to perfect 
it. 

Ball dresses are made — i, pointed back and front; 2, 
with round waists ; 3, with basques of various shapes, 
cut in one with the bodice ; 4, with front basques and 
pointed back. 

I . The pointed waist. — This is usually a very becoming 
style. The front points vary in length with the figure, 
and are kept stifi' by means of whalebone in cases. The 
whalebones are cut in blunt points, so that they should 
■not cut through the dress fabric, but must also be pierced 
and sewn on. The edges of the bodice are corded with 
single or double cording ; the sleeves are also corded 
at the edges, and the top is corded to match. Eyelet- 
holes are worked on the inside of the back whalebones ; 
they are worked in white silk, in close overcast, not 



IS 

button-hole stitch. Dresses are laced from top to edge, 
therefore the silk lace is put in at the top left-hand eyelet- 
hole. 

2. Round- walsted bodices are cut off at the waist-line 
and corded, and the skirt is then firmly sewn under the 
cord. A sash is always worn with these simple but pretty 
corsages. 

3. Ball dress bodices with basques are worn, and 
are cut like high bodices as far as the lower part of the 
bodice is concerned. The edges are hemmed or corded, 
according to the nature of the garniture. Colored silk 
cordings are extremely fashionable at the edges of basques. 
Basqued bodices are laced up at the back like the 
pointed corsage. 

4. A low bodice with front basques and pointed back 
is extremely becoming, and is made by a union of the two 
styles, I and 3. 

Low bodices are trimmed with folds of silk tulle or lace, 
arranged in various forms, and termed Berthe or Bertha. 
The Bertha is made on a shape cut from not very stiff net 
or tulle, and on a tarlatan foundation taken double ; but 
the experienced milliner will fold the Bertha upon a paper 
pattern, running the folds in place and trimming vv^ith lace. 
This has a light and good effect. A bouillonne Bertha 
demands a foundation of stiff net or tarlatan. The bouil- 
lonn^s are usually finished by lace or a frilling of the ma- 
terial. The sleeves of ball dresses are always trimmed to 
match the Bertha, and often consist of pufis of tulle, a 
frill of crei^e lisse, or Frou-Frou with velvet run in, being 
tacked inside the corded edge. A crepe lisse or Frou-Frou 
tucker is run inside the cording of the neck. Whatever 
is chosen as a neck tucker must be repeated on the sleeves. 
Ball dresses are worn over "slips" or petticoats of silk, or 



76 

consist of rich silk or faille trimmed with tulle, net, blonde, 
crepe de chine, and other diaphanous fabrics. Nearly all 
kinds of trimming are and have been emploj^ed for ball 
dresses. 

Ball dress skirts and slips are made with lon^ trains ; 
the prevailing characteristic of walking and visiting toil- 
ettes will be found repeated in gauzy materials for the ball 
dress. 



MAKING OVER. 

To make old clothes look almost as well as new is an 
important part of dressmaking in families where economy 
is desirable. It Is more difficult to remodel in some instan- 
ces than to make an entirely new dress, and a few obser- 
vations on the subject may prove acceptable. 

We will suppose that it Is wished to convert half-worn 
black-silk and half-worn black cashmere into a stylish 
costume. The first thing to be done Is carefully to unpick 
the skirts of both, taking all loose threads away. A small 
sharp penknife is better for this purpose thnn a pair of 
scissors. Having separated all the breadths of the silk, 
prepare them for sponging by shaking and brushing them 
very carefully. Then get a basin of clean cold water, soft 
if possible, and sqeeze the blue bag Into it until It is dark 
blue ; spread one of the silk breadths on the table, and 
sponge It very thoroughly on both sides ; then fold it up 
and lay it on a clean cloth or towel. Proceed in the same 
manner with all the breadths ; then roll them up tightly in 
the towel, and on the following day iron them carefully on 
what is to be the wrong side. By this mode the disagree- 
able stiffness that usually characterises cleaned silk is 
avoided, and the blue has the eflect of renewing the black. 



77 

The cashmere breadths, after behig thorougly brushed, 
must be sponged with the blue water and hung in the sun 
to dry. They must not be ironed if it can be avoided, 
though sometimes it is necessary to press out the creases. 

It is always well to line a done-up silk skirt. If this 
is not done the silk is likely to split sooner than it would 
without the support of the lining. It also prevents the 
silk from looking thin, and this is an advantage in many 
cases. Each breadth must be lined separately, and be 
joined together afterwards. To make the seams neat 
on the wrong side, one side of the lining should be left 
out in stitching the breadths together, and afterwards 
hemmed down upon the seam, taking care not to take the 
stitches through to the silk. When all have been joined 
together, leaving, of course, the pocket-hole and the plack- 
et-hole, the bottom of the skirt is cut even, lined a few in- 
ches up, and bound with braid. 

This is a part of dressmaking into which it is wise to 
put good work. It looks very untidy to see a piece of 
braid hanging loose from the dress, and it is, besides, a 
fruitful cause of accidents. Again, when the braid has 
been torn off in this way it never fits in its place again, 
having become stretched, and a join is alw^ays to be avoid- 
ed. 

For the next steps our supposed worker must be guided, 
in a great meaaure, by the quantity of each material she 
possesses. If there be sufficient cashmere to make a tab- 
lier and sleevless jacket-bodice, so much the better. The 
skirt may be trimmed with plaited frills of silk, cashmere, 
or both combined. I would not advise any one to attempt 
plaiting these frills unless she possesses a sewing-machine. 
Not only is it a long and weary task merely to lay down 
the plaits, but the two rows of sewing necessary to keep 



78 

them in place take a very long time to do by hand. Also, 
the evenness and regularity of plaits and stitches, w^hich 
add so much to the appearance of the trimming, are much 
more easily attained by using the sewing-machine than by 
hand-^vork. With a treadle sewing-machine it is easy to 
turn down the plaits while you do the w^ork, but v^ith a 
hand-machine they must be pinned or tacked beforehand. 
In the case of those who have not a sew^ing-machine it is 
better to cut the frills and join them all ready, and get 
'some one in your neighborhood to plait and stitch them, 
which she will do for a very small charge per yard. 

It is better not to put on the plaited frills w^ith the ma- 
chine. In case of wishing to alter the dress again, there 
is great difficulty in unpicking the machine lock-stich, and 
the marks are not to be erased. As silk "does up" over 
and over again, these points are w^orth considering. 

Plaited frills may be cut either the selvedge way of the 
material or across. I do not mean "on the cross," for 
plaits do not "set" when cut on the bias. Those who 
like the frills to set rather flat have them cut the selvedge 
way. Those, on the contrary, who like them full and 
"fluffy" cut them straight across the stuff*. 

We will consider that the plaited frills of cashmere or 
silk have now been completed and sewed on the skirt, 
wdiich, when sewed on the band and provided with a 
pocket, is completed. 

The next consideration Is the tablier. Having chosen 
a style, our worker gets the pattern of it, and lays it on 
the cashmere. Joins will be necessary for this, and they 
iTiust be neatly done and pressed on the wrong side with 
a hot iron when completed. Much of the style of the 
costume depends on the way the tablier sets at the 
waist. A good slope must be taken in front, and in sew- 



79 

ing It on the band, care must be taken to follow the slope 
equally on both sides, otherwise the tablier drags and 
looks crooked. If it should be necessary to have a join 
down the front, it can easily be managed by having a hem 
with either buttons or bows all the way down. The long 
straight tablier, reaching nearly to the edge of the dress 
infront, was always an ungraceful and unbecoming gar- 
ment, and has now nearly disappeared. A better- style 
reaches a little below the knees, and Is either rounded or 
pointed in front. The cashmere tablier must be trimmed 
with a narrow close plaiting of silk, unless fur, tape, 
fringe, or other trimming should be preferred. But before 
this trimming is put on the tablier should be lined two 
inches deep all round with bias silk. The plaiting Is sewn 
on over this lining. 

The sleeves of the costume must be of silk. Both skirt 
and sleeves are almost universally of silk at present. The 
cuffs may be trimmed with cashmere. The pretty shape 
which seems to come round the wrist and button over up- 
on Itself is easily cut and placed upon the sleeve. When 
sleeves are worn tight to the arm It is sometimes necessary 
to have them open an inch or two at the outer seam. 
When this is the case the opening Is trimmed all round 
with very narrov^ kilt plaiting, and a little bow of silk or 
ribbon Is placed where the seam begins. 

The advantage of these tight sleeves Is great. Even a 
thin ''scraggy" arm looks well in them, and a well-rounded 
one is at its best. 

We now come to the bodice, which probably requires 
more contrivance than any other part, for bodices are 
tight, and tight things will wear out. In these days, how- 
ever, the fashion of bodices would seem to have been 
made expressly to favor the "crafty little cunning econo- 



8o 



mies" that the clever worker delights in devising. The 
bodice may be all cashmere or half cashmere, that is, 
there may be a fold of cashmere down the back, and 
another down each side of the front. These folds have a 
very good effect, and being brought from the shoulder are 
not only easier to arrange than side pieces, but are more 
becoming:. In cases where a bodice has become too nar- 
row across the chest, fashion allows us to place folds of 
silk or cashmere down the front to add to the width. 

The basques should be trimmed either with a bias band 
of silk or with narrow kilt plaiting of silk to match that 
on the tablier, after having been lined with bias silk, also 
like the tablier. 

The collar may be made plain, or stand-up, or turned- 
down, or both, according to the taste of the worker. The 
ultra-fashionable collar stands up all round the neck, and 
comes down to the third button of the bodice in front. 
Sometimes it is longer on on one side than on the other, 
and crosses over. Sometimes there is a double stand-up 
collar, a very large one, and a smaller one inside. Again, 
there is the stand-up and turned-down collar which is not 
so elaborate as it sounds, consisting merely of revers in 
front in addition to the ordinary collar, which is a union 
of both shapes at the back. A long neck is improved by 
a high collar. 

The Spanish proverb says, "There are no birds in last 
year's nest," but I hope contrivance and ingenuity will 
prevent some of our readers from supposing there are no 
dresses in last year's wardrobe. 



JACKETS. 

Cutting-out and making-up a jacket for out-door wear ' 
is perhaps even more difficult a task than that of fitting 
and making a tight bodice. A tailor-made jacket always 
fits better and wears better than those made by women ; 
and the natural inference is that tailors study the laws of 
proportion and reduce them to practice more efficiently 
than dressmakers and mantuamakers. With the assistance 
of good paper models, however, a fair attempt may be 
made to rival the the dressmaker, at least, in this depart- 
ment. 

One great error that is frequently made in cutting out 
fitting jackets for street wear is that of making them too 
tight at the waist. If this is done, the jacket never wears 
so well, and it is, besides, almost impossible to make the 
basques sit properly. In the case of loose jackets, of 
course, there is no temptation to commit this blunder ; but 
here the principal difficulty consists in making the sleeve 
sit well ; particularly if the material be thick, as cloth, 
sealskin, astrakhan, etc. A tailor always gives abundance 
of width on the chest and across the back, and we must 
imitate the fraternity in these cases if we want our home- 
made jackets to be a success. 

The modern ones are almost invariably short at the 
back and long in front. Some of them have sleeves ; in 
others, the sleeve is simulated by a deep fold of the ma- 
terial, as in the dolman form. The latter is the more be- 
coming shape to most figures ; but the former will proba- 
bly be preferred by the generality of our readers. 

I need not particularly enlarge upon the mode of cutting 
out these mantles, for the general principles are precisely 
the same as those on which a jacket-bodice is cut, but the 



82 



reader must remember to allow a great deal for 'turn- 
ings," and must on no account cut the neck away until the 
collar has been cut out, made, and tried on. Much of the 
style of the garment depends on the sit of the collar. 

There are some differences in the mode of finishing off 
from those necessary in completing a dress bodice. The 
fronts must be lined for a breadth of about two inches 
with silk, before the button-holes are worked. This lin- 
ing not only gives strength to the button-holes, but also 
affords a neat finish to the sides. The basque mu.st be fin- 
ished in the same manner. In the case of cloth and other 
thick materials, braid is substituted for silk, as being 
stronger and wearing better. 

The inside of the sleeves at the cuff is finished to cor- 
respond. The sleeves are not piped into the jacket as in 
a dress bodice. They are very firmly stitched in. If the 
material be cloth, the raw edges are afterwards parted and 
lightly tacked down on either side. The stitches are not 
taken through to the right side. 

The collar is lined with silk, the lining being hemmed 
down on the inside after the collar has been stitched on. 

The foregoing remarks have applied more particularly 
to the jacket form of mantle, but there is very little differ- 
ence in making a dolman. The lining must be of silk, 
but no button-holes are necessary. The trimming round 
the edges may consist of fringe, lace, or silk plisses ; but 
it is not indispensable to have any of these, more espec- 
ially if the dolman be braided or embroidered. The braid 
fringe or tape fringe so much worn makes a charming 
finish, especially when mixed with silk. 

In cutting out a fichu, the width of the material seldom 
admits of the whole being cut without a join, These 
joins should be managed so that they shall come at that 



83 

portion of the fichu which crosses over under a bow. 
Fichus are finished off similarly to dolmans, but it is quite 
necessary that they should have a fringe, or plisses of silk 
or cashmere. Otherwise they look not only unfinished, 
but ungraceful. These plisses need not be made of very 
good silk. It is difficult to make them at home, and is a 
tedious business even with a sewing-machine. I should 
advise those who think of this trimming to put it out to be 
done. 



UNDERCLOTHING. 

In cutting out all underlinen great care must be taken to 
lay the pattern perfectly straight on the material, to smooth 
out all folds and creases, and to take note beforehand of 
any alterations that may be required in the length or width 
of the garment. When the pattern has been pinned on to 
the cloth, it is no bad plan, before cutting out, to make a 
pencil mark round all the outlines, particularly where 
alterations are needed, and the first garment must be most 
carefully cut out, as it should sei'\"e as a model for all the 
subsequent ones. Many a set of clothing has been spoiled 
by not attending to this rule. The last one cut has been 
used as the model for the next, and when the last of all 
has been compared with the first, it has been found so 
utterly different, and sometimes so ridiculous in shape as 
to be quite useless. 

Turnings must be allowed for everywhere, except where 
selvedges are seamed together, as in joining on gores, &c. 
Tucks in drawers must be taken into consideration and 
allowed for, and only one garment, or portion of a gar- 
ment, must be cut out at a time, no matter what its size 
may be, nor how simple it may appear. 



84 

Place the roll of cloth from which you intend to cut on 
a chair at the end of a long (dining-room) table. Pull 
out as much cloth as will lie all along the length of the 
table : the cutter should stand at the side of tlie table, so 
that the piece of cloth lies selvedge-ways across her. 

Before cutting out a chemise, it must be ascertained 
what width it is to be at the hem, as the size of the gores 
and the method of cutting depends entirely on this. (See 
Figs. 53 and 53.) 

Fig. 52 shows the way to cut a chemise with small gores 
only. An ordinary cloth cut in this way gives a width of 
two yards, v^hich is generally considered sufficient. Sup- 
posing, however, that the material should be narrow, or a 
greater width be required, the chemise and gores must be 
cut by the dotted lines. 

Fig. 53. The gores can always be cut from the pieces 
of cloth at the top of chemise, and must be neatly seamed 
on, leaving of course the wider part at the hem. When 
the gores are joined at the side, seams should be run and 
felled, and a hem from half an inch to an inch wide made 
at the bottom. 

The yokes are placed on the cloth, and cut as shown 
in Fig. 54. The sleeves must never be cut across the 
material — that is from selvedge to sefvedge — but always 
the lengthway of the cloth, as they wear much better cut 
in this way. They are joined and put into the armholes 
of the chemise, with the pointed part towards the lowest 
part of armhole. The back and front of the chemise 
must next be gathered, the back and front yokes joined at 
the shoulders, and then fitted on to, and stitched to, the 
top of the chemise and sleeves. The yokes can be either 
plain, or tucked all over, or made of alternate strips of 
tucks and embroidered insertions ; the right side of the 



^ 



tT, I 



5 
^ 




87 



front should button over the left, and the top edge and 
edge of sleeves may be trnnmed with lace or embroidery. 

Trimmings. — The most durable trimming for under- 
clothing is Madeira w^ork, but as this is costly, it is not 
within the reach of all ; and the Excelsior and the Beau- 
Ideal embroideries are a most excellent and durable sub- 
stitute. Real Valenciennes lace is sold by some houses at 
little more than cost price. The make is strong, and very 
and suitable for trimmings. 

The mode of cutting out a nightdress is similar to that 
employed in cutting out a chemise ; the required length 




Fig. 54. Diagram for Smaller Pieces. 



must be calculated, and the pattern pinned on to, or pen- 
cilled out on, the cloth. Fig. ^^ does not give the entire 
length of the night-dress, but it is very easy to continue 
the perfectly straight lines until the breadths are as long as 
they are wished to be. Figs. 55 and ^6, the simpler pat- 
tern, shall be described first. The front breadth of this 
night-dress for a person of medium height should be a 
yard and a half long from the shoulder to the hem, and 
the back breadth six inches less. 



3 






/ 




Fig. 56. Jlode of Tlaciug the Various Pieces of tlie Niglit Dress. 



90 

Before beginning to make up the night-dress, the gores 
must be cut out, and with them the sleeves and yoke- 
pieces. The gores are joined to the lower part of the 
night-dress on either side to give it additional fulness 
round the skirt, and the side seams should then be run 
and felled up to the arm-holes. A tolerably wide hem 
completes the lower edge of the night-dress, an inch and 
a half usually. 

At the top the back is gathered between the two small 
marks on the illustration ; in the front the line down the 
center from the neck represents the opening, and is from 
sixteen to eighteen inches long. The front of the night- 
dress on either side of this opening Is tucked to within 
four Inches of the arm-hole, the tucks being continued a 
little lower than the opening, until the width is sufficiently 
reduced to make the shoulder fit exactly to the shoulder of 
the yoke. The right side of the opening should fold over 
the other, and will require an extra piece put on, and the 
hem on the left side must be lined. This hem, and the 
piece fold-ing over it, which Is double, are usually about 
an inch wide. 

The sleeves should next be joined, and the narrower 
and straighter gathered into a wristband ; the upper 
part is put plain into the armholes, any extra fulness being 
gathered at the shoulder. The yokes must be tacked 
together a little way from the edge, and first hemmed on 
the wrong side to the back, sleeves, and front shoulders, 
and then stitched on the right side, A straight band round 
the neck, and buttons and buttonholes down the front, 
complete the night-dress. 

Figs. 57 and 58. This differs a little from the previous 
one ; the back breadth is precisely the same but the front 
breadth is cut to fit into a pointed yoke, and is only three 




1 1 

1 




1 


7^ 




\ ■ 


f 



93 

inches longer than the back one. The mode of putting 
in the gores and sleeves is, however, exactly similar to 
that already described ; the back and front breadths are 
gathered at the top, the two yoke pieces tacked together, 
and then hemmed to the back, front, and sleeves on the 
wrong side, and stitched on the right side. The gather- 
ings in front should not be continued beyond the marks on 
the illustration, but between them on both sides, leaving 
plain spaces near the front and arm-holes. A narrow 
band is put round the neck, and the collar joined to it. 

The piece ^of longcloth left between the second yoke 
and the selvedge will come in for cutting out bands, 
linings to hems, &c., all of which must be cut the length- 
way of the material. 

Young ladies who have plenty of time at their disposal, 
and not much money to sj^end on trimmings, will find 
feather-stitching a very pretty way of finishing off bands 
and yokes. Sleeves wear better if the arm-holes are lined; 
This is done by cutting pieces of cloth about two inches 
wide, but the exact shape and size of the arm-holes, and 
hemming them neatly on the wrong side. The sleeve is 
then slipped in betsveen the night-dress and the lining, 
and joined to both by fine hemming. 

If several night-dresses are required, it will be found 
better to cut all the front and back breadths first, then the 
gores, which can be made to fit closely into each other, so 
that four gores can be cut out of the width, and lastly the 
sleeves, yokes, and bands ; but the method illustrated 
Fig. 56, is the most economical for cutting out a single 
garment. 

Night-dresses are frequently trimmed with embroidery, 
which is put on with a cording by most makers. This 
plan, although beautifully neat, is not altogether to be 



94 

adopted, as, when the embroidery Is torn or worn, the 
cording has to be removed in order to replace it. 

A better plan is to cord the night-dresses at the collar, 
front, and cuffs, to whip the edge of the embroidery, and 
draw it up to the fulness required to tuck in place, and 
neatly hem down the whipped edge just below the cord. 

By this means the work can be removed and replaced 
with little trouble. 

The same remarks apply to putting on lace, which 
should be sewn on the edge of the night-dress, and not 
put on with the cording. Before using any ^ord for cord- 
ing underlinen, it should be scalded in boiling water to 
prevent shrinking when washed. Unless this precaution 
is taken, the cord will draw the cloth up into very unsight- 
ly wrinkles. 



GUIDE 



DRESSMAKING. 

CONTAINING 

ALL AND COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS IN MEASURING, 
FITTING, CUTTING BY MEASURE, MAKING UP, 
AND ALL THE OTHER DETAILS OF 
DRESSMAKING. 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED 
COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FOR CUTTING AND MAKING 

LADIES' UNDERCLOTHING. 



FIFTY-SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS. 



BOSTON: 

J. HENRY SYMONDS, PUBLISHER, 
68 Devonshire Street, 







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